Caster-socket.



No. 643,468. Patented Feb. I3, |900. G. D. CLARK.

CASTER S'UCKET.

(Application led Nov. 16, 1899.) (Nb Modelq i;

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UNITED vrares ATENT FFICE.

GEORGE D: CLARK, OE PLAINVILLE, CONNECTICUT.

CASTER-SOCKET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 643,468, dated February 13, 1900.

Application filed November 16, 1899. Serial No. 737,163, (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE D. CLARK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Plainville, county of Hartford, State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Caster-Sockets, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to casters.

Among the chief objects of this invention are simplicity, economy, effectiveness, and durability. Incidental to the construction hereinafter described the socket or castercase-t-hat is, the portion which is inserted into a hole in the leg of a piece of furniture and remains there permanently-aiords an effective support for the pintle portion of the caster proper, and, furthermore, engages the same in such a manner that when the piece of furniture is lifted the caster will not become accidentally detached. The removal of the caster, however, when desired may be readily eected by overcoming the frictional resistances of the device hereinafter more fully described. It will also be found that the construction is such that undue friction caused by the gripping-arms is entirely avoided when the caster is in use, the purpose being to relieve the springfingers of any strain when the caster is in its normal operative position. Since the spring-ngers are thus relieved, it is necessary that they only perform the function of preventing accidental displacement. Strain upon these spring-iingers being 'avoided removes danger of fracture in the normal use of the caster.

In the drawings, Figure lis a side elevation of a caster-case embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a like view of a pintle of a type that may be employed with the case shown in Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the upper portion of the case of Fig. 1. Fig. 4t is a sectional view of a furniture-leg and socket, the caster and its pintle being shown in full in place.

A is the lower or main .portion of the body of a caster case or socket, whichv portion is substantially cylindrical and non-yielding. The case is contracted at a point ct for the purpose hereinafter described. At the point of contraction a and extending upwardly is a substantially cylindrical body contracted at its upper end to form spring-fingers, which fingers may carry suitable turned-in jaws for the purpose of grasping the reduced portion of a caster-pintle below the bulbous head. It will be observed that the caster-case thus far described has two portions, an upper one and a lower one, of substantially cylindrical form, but of different diameters both externally and internally. The spring-fingers a are carried by the cylindrical portion of the lesser diameter, and said fingers are formed by providing a suitable number of slits a2, extending downwardly a suitable distance from the extreme upper end. The length of these slits d2 is, however, less than the entire length of the reduced cylindrical portion, and therefore the same is true of the spring-fingers. The caster-casing is open at both its upper and its lower end.

It is customary for manufacturers of furniture to bore a hole in the end of each leg of a piece of furniture of a standard uniform size. It is therefore desirable that that portion of the caster-case which is of the largest diameter correspond substantially to the size of this standard hole, so that the caster may be forced into place and there be frictionally held-for example, as in the position shown in Fig. 1f. The length of the caster-case isless than the length of the hole into which it is inserted, so that theV bulbous head b of the caster-pintle B may be projected through the case A and into the space beyond said case, the gripping- Iingersa of the caster-case springing outwardly as the bulbous head of the pintle B passes it and inwardly when said bulbous head has entirely passed, in which latter position accidental detachment of the caster C is prevented. The caster C may be carried by a suitable frame C', attached tothe pintle B. The pintle B toward its upper end-for example, on the line Y Y-is of a diameter to neatly fit in the caster-case A-for example, on the line X X, upon which line it will be observed the body is substantially non-yielding, since this circular bearing is below the fingers 0.. The strain of the pintle B in use is taken directly by a non-yielding part most capable of carrying it, and thereby removed from the less strong spring-fingers a'. The

lower portion of the pintle-for example, at b'-is of a diameter which neatly fits in the bore of the case A on approximately the line IOO Z Z. Since the cylindrical portion of the case A on the line Z Z is substantially non-yielding, it effectively supports the pintle at a lower point. The pintle B being thus supported by circular bearings at two of its strongest points in the socket makes no call upon the spring-fingers a' for any support. WVere the spring-fingers relied on to support the lateral strain of the pintle they would of necessity have to be made of such heavy sti material that great difficulty of operation would result.

By forming the upper portion of the castercase of areduced diameter sufiicient space is left between the external wall of the springngers and the internal wall of the bore in the furniture-leg to permit said fingers to spring outwardly when it becomes desirable to insert or to remove a caster. The caster shown is one supported by a frame, which may have any suitable form of bearing device to take up against the lower edge of the caster-case. The socket or caster-case may be provided with a track-plate, if desired, which track-plate has been known forso many years that there is no necessity of illustration.

In Fig. 4 the parts are shown as assembled, the caster-pintle being supported on the line Z Z, the lower portion of the caster-pintle being firmly supported on the line Z Z, While the upper portion of the said pintle is supported to some degree upon substantially the line X X. The jaws of the spring-fingers are shown as projected into the space underneath the bulbous head l) of the pintle, their presence there preventing accidental displacement.

C2 is a bearing-piece which may be of any well-known type located between the casterframe C/ and the lower end of the caster-case. The number of gripping-fingers employed is entirely immaterial, so long as the extreme upper open end of the caster-case may yield to permit the bulbous head Z) of the pintle to pass in either direction by the application of sufiicient force to overcome the resistance of the spring-fingers. The tubular portion of the caster-ease may be formed in any manner well known to the mechanic.

It should be understood that whether the caster-socket is solid or slitted the entire length (which latter form is common when the socket is made of one or more pieces of sheet metal) the pintle-bearings are nevertheless substantially non-yielding, since in use the socket is driven firmly into a hole in a furniture-leg, so that the presence of the material surrounding the socket reinforces and holds the parts firmly together. In the event that the socket is made up of one or more pieces of sheet metal in the form of a tube having slits or seams the entire length of the tube reinforce-bands or their equivalents might be placed around said parts. Such an application of reinforcing-bands of course is too obvious to require separate illustration, since they might be nothing more I than mere rings slipped or otherwise placed over the parts of the socket. In fact the surrounding material of the furniture is one form of such a clamp. There is in reality little occasion for the use of a metallic reinforce excepting where it is deemed expeditious to employ it, as might be the casein the event the socket is to be inserted into a fragile support. Ot course where the socket is seamless there is no occasion for such reinforce-bands.

What I claim is- 1. A caster-socket comprising a lower nonyielding portion of substantially cylindrical form, an upperportion integral therewith but contracted to a less diameter, the lower part of said upper portion being substantially nonyielding, the upper part of said upper portion being substantially yielding and arranged to grasp and detachably hold a caster-pintle.

2. In a castersocket,a tubular portion having a plurality of circular non-yielding bearings, the uppermost of said bearings being of the smallest diameter, and yielding arms integral with said socket but above said uppermost bearing and arranged to grasp and detachably hold a caster-pintle.

3. A caster-socket comprising a lower nonyielding portion of substantially cylindrical form, an upper portion integral therewith but contracted to a less diameter, the lower part of said upper portion being substantially nonyielding, the upper part of said upper portion being substantially yielding, and inturned jaws carried by said yielding portion for grasping a caster-pintle.

Signed at Plainville, Connecticut, this 14th day of November, 1899.

GEORGE D. CLARK.

Witnesses:

ELLA W. OORBAN, D. G. CLARK.

IOO 

